former Italian political party, one of the first Italian parties with a national scope and a modern democratic organization. It was founded in 1892 in Genoa as the Italian Workers’ Party (Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani) and formally adopted the name Italian Socialist Party in 1893....

any of several types of events that cannot be accounted for by natural law or knowledge apparently acquired by other than usual sensory abilities. The discipline concerned with investigating such phenomena is called parapsychology....

type of meson consisting of a charmed quark and a charmed antiquark. It has a mass of 3.1 GeV/c2, which is about 3.5 times larger than the mass of a proton. The particle was first detected in 1974 by two groups of American physicists working independently of each other, one headed by Burton Richter at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) in Menlo Park, Calif., an...

The leading ideologist of this “demoticist” movement, which aimed to promote traditional popular culture at the expense of the pseudo-archaic pedantry fashionable in Athens, was Yánnis Psicháris (Jean Psichari), whose book My Journey (1888) was partly a fictionalized account of a journey around the Greek world and partly a belligerent manifesto arguing that the......

The leading ideologist of this “demoticist” movement, which aimed to promote traditional popular culture at the expense of the pseudo-archaic pedantry fashionable in Athens, was Yánnis Psicháris (Jean Psichari), whose book My Journey (1888) was partly a fictionalized account of a journey around the Greek world and partly a belligerent manifesto arguing that the......

The two important species are the common guava (Psidium guajava) and the cattley, or strawberry, guava (P. littorale or P. cattleianum). The common guava has a fruit with a yellow skin and white, yellow, or pink flesh. The cattley guava occurs in two forms: one has fruits with a bright yellow skin, and the other’s fruits have a purplish red skin. Other guavas include the......

...skin and white, yellow, or pink flesh. The cattley guava occurs in two forms: one has fruits with a bright yellow skin, and the other’s fruits have a purplish red skin. Other guavas include the cás of Costa Rica (P. friedrichsthalianum) and the guisaro (P. molle), both with highly acidic fruits, and the Brazilian guava (P. guineense). The so-called pineapple......

The two important species are the common guava (Psidium guajava) and the cattley, or strawberry, guava (P. littorale or P. cattleianum). The common guava has a fruit with a yellow skin and white, yellow, or pink flesh. The cattley guava occurs in two forms: one has fruits with a bright yellow skin, and the other’s fruits have a purplish red skin. Other guavas include the......

...other’s fruits have a purplish red skin. Other guavas include the cás of Costa Rica (P. friedrichsthalianum) and the guisaro (P. molle), both with highly acidic fruits, and the Brazilian guava (P. guineense). The so-called pineapple guava is the feijoa....

The two important species are the common guava (Psidium guajava) and the cattley, or strawberry, guava (P. littorale or P. cattleianum). The common guava has a fruit with a yellow skin and white, yellow, or pink flesh. The cattley guava occurs in two forms: one has fruits with a bright yellow skin, and the other’s fruits have a purplish red skin. Other guavas include the......

The two important species are the common guava (Psidium guajava) and the cattley, or strawberry, guava (P. littorale or P. cattleianum). The common guava has a fruit with a yellow skin and white, yellow, or pink flesh. The cattley guava occurs in two forms: one has fruits with a bright yellow skin, and the other’s fruits have a purplish red skin. Other guavas include the......

...in two forms: one has fruits with a bright yellow skin, and the other’s fruits have a purplish red skin. Other guavas include the cás of Costa Rica (P. friedrichsthalianum) and the guisaro (P. molle), both with highly acidic fruits, and the Brazilian guava (P. guineense). The so-called pineapple guava is the feijoa....

(family Psilidae), any of a group of insects (order Diptera) that are small, slender, brownish flies with long antennae. The larvae feed on plants and may be garden pests. The carrot rust fly (Psila rosae; also known as Chamaepsila rosae) often damages carrots, celery, and related plants....

...on mud bottoms of northern coasts. A number of sea star genera distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere have longer, more pointed, spine-fringed arms; among these genera are Astropecten, Psilaster, and Luidia. The largest West Indies sea star, Oreaster reticulatus, is sometimes 50 cm (20 inches) across. Members of the chiefly Indo-Pacific genus Linckia can......

(family Psilidae), any of a group of insects (order Diptera) that are small, slender, brownish flies with long antennae. The larvae feed on plants and may be garden pests. The carrot rust fly (Psila rosae; also known as Chamaepsila rosae) often damages carrots, celery, and related......

hallucinogenic principles contained in certain mushrooms (notably two Mexican species, Psilocybe mexicana and Psilocybe cubensis [formerly Stropharia cubensis]). Hallucinogenic mushrooms used in religious ceremonies by the Indians of Mexico were considered sacred and were called “god’s flesh” by the Aztecs. In the 1950s the active...

hallucinogenic principles contained in certain mushrooms (notably two Mexican species, Psilocybe mexicana and Psilocybe cubensis [formerly Stropharia cubensis]). Hallucinogenic mushrooms used in religious ceremonies by the Indians of Mexico were considered sacred and were called “god’s flesh” by the Aztecs. In the 1950s the active principles psilocin......

hallucinogenic principles contained in certain mushrooms (notably two Mexican species, Psilocybe mexicana and Psilocybe cubensis [formerly Stropharia cubensis]). Hallucinogenic mushrooms used in religious ceremonies by the Indians of Mexico were considered sacred and were called “god’s flesh” by the Aztecs. In the 1950s the active principles psilocin......

hallucinogenic principles contained in certain mushrooms (notably two Mexican species, Psilocybe mexicana and Psilocybe cubensis [formerly Stropharia cubensis]). Hallucinogenic mushrooms used in religious ceremonies by the Indians of Mexico were considered sacred and were called “god’s flesh” by the Aztecs. In the 1950s the active principles psilocin......

Barium and manganese hydrous oxide, BaMnMn8O16(OH)4, an important ore mineral of manganese. What was formerly called psilomelane is now known to be a mixture of several manganese oxides of which romanechite is a major constituent. Such manganese oxide mixtures may form large deposits and may occur in lake or swamp bedded deposits and clays; it ha...

The Psylotophytopsida is the most primitive group of the pteridophytes (ferns and other seedless vascular plants); this group did not survive the Late Devonian. Cooksonia, Rhynia, and others possessing a naked stem with terminal sporangia (spore cases) belong here. In other members, sporangia were borne laterally but no true leaves were developed, and the......

The Psylotophytopsida is the most primitive group of the pteridophytes (ferns and other seedless vascular plants); this group did not survive the Late Devonian. Cooksonia, Rhynia, and others possessing a naked stem with terminal sporangia (spore cases) belong here. In other members, sporangia were borne laterally but no true leaves were developed, and the......

The Psylotophytopsida is the most primitive group of the pteridophytes (ferns and other seedless vascular plants); this group did not survive the Late Devonian. Cooksonia, Rhynia, and others possessing a naked stem with terminal sporangia (spore cases) belong here. In other members, sporangia were borne laterally but no true leaves were developed, and the......

In 1859 he announced his discovery of the then-earliest-known land plant, Psilophyton, which he found in Devonian strata (dating from 408 to 360 million years ago). In Air Breathers of the Coal Period (1863) he described newly discovered fossil animals. Dawson was knighted in 1884....

The Psylotophytopsida is the most primitive group of the pteridophytes (ferns and other seedless vascular plants); this group did not survive the Late Devonian. Cooksonia, Rhynia, and others possessing a naked stem with terminal sporangia (spore cases) belong here. In other members, sporangia were borne laterally but no true leaves were developed, and the......

...divisions (or phyla)—the Bryophyta (mosses and liverworts) and the Tracheophyta (vascular plants). The vascular plants include four subdivisions: the three entirely seedless groups are the Psilopsida, Lycopsida, and Sphenopsida; the fourth group, the Pteropsida, consists of the ferns (seedless) and the seed plants (gymnosperms and angiosperms)....

...divisions (or phyla)—the Bryophyta (mosses and liverworts) and the Tracheophyta (vascular plants). The vascular plants include four subdivisions: the three entirely seedless groups are the Psilopsida, Lycopsida, and Sphenopsida; the fourth group, the Pteropsida, consists of the ferns (seedless) and the seed plants (gymnosperms and angiosperms)....

mountain riddled with caves, west-central Crete (Modern Greek: Kríti), in the nomós (department) of Réthímnon, southern Greece. One of Ídi’s two peaks, Timios Stavros, at 8,058 feet (2,456 m), is Crete’s highest mountain. According to one legend Zeus was reared in the Ídiean cave on the peak’s scrub-covered slopes. The well-known Ka...

The genus Psilotum contains two species and one hybrid (P. complanatum, P. nudum, and P. x intermedium) of pantropical plants with whisklike green stems and scalelike appendages called “enations,” which may represent reduced leaves, but they contain no vascular tissue (veins). P. nudum also reaches into the subtropics, growing as far north as the......

...have been introduced to Australia and New Zealand to aid in the pollination of various flowering plants. Most authorities recognize two genera: Bombus, the nest-building bumblebees, and Psithyrus, the parasitic bumblebees. Certain species are sometimes assigned to a third genus, Bombias. About 19 species of Bombus and 6 species of Psithyrus occur in Great......

any member of the group of more than 360 species of generally brightly coloured, noisy birds, to which the general name parrot may be applied. All belong to just two families. In the family Psittacidae are parakeets (including the budgerigars, rosellas, and conures), lovebird...

any member of the group of more than 360 species of generally brightly coloured, noisy birds, to which the general name parrot may be applied. All belong to just two families. In the family Psittacidae are parakeets (including the budgerigars, rosellas, and conures), lovebird...

debilitating disease of birds cause by a circovirus that infects wild and domestic psittaciforms such as macaws, parrots, cockatoos, and parakeets; cockatoos are especially susceptible. The causative agent is one of the smallest known pathogenic viruses. The name of the disease arises from the beak malfo...

The ceratopsians comprise three lineages (see images). Members of the Psittacosauridae, including Psittacosaurus, were mostly bipedal and lived during the Early Cretaceous; they had a beak, a small frill, and no horns. Members of the Protoceratopsidae, including Protoceratops and Leptoceratops, were mostly quadrupedal and slightly larger and lived from the Early to Late......

infectious disease of worldwide distribution caused by a bacterial parasite (Chlamydia psittaci) and transmitted to humans from various birds. The infection has been found in about 70 different species of birds; parrots and parakeets (Psittacidae, from which the disease is named), pigeons, turkeys, ducks, and geese are the principal sources of human infection....

species of parrot (order Psittaciformes) characterized by distinctive scalloped gray plumage. The African gray is native to a wide swathe of Africa, from offshore islands in the Atlantic Ocean, including Sao Tome and Principe to eastern Côte d’Ivoire through Nigeria, Cameroon...

The nominate, and most numerous, subspecies, P. erithacus erithacus, sometimes known as the Congo African gray, is silvery gray in colour; the colour is darker on the head and wings and lightens on the belly. Head and body feathers are edged in white, giving the birds a scaled appearance. The tail feathers are bright red. Red feathers may appear randomly among the body feathers......

...the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Some authorities recognize a smaller, darker variant, Psittacus erithacus timneh, as a separate species, the Timneh parrot (P. timneh). Its range extends from Guinea-Bissau south and east into Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire....

...the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Some authorities recognize a smaller, darker variant, Psittacus erithacus timneh, as a separate species, the Timneh parrot (P. timneh). Its range extends from Guinea-Bissau south and east into Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire....

(species Psittrichas fulgidus), parrot of the forested slopes of northern New Guinea, the sole species constituting the subfamily Psittrichasinae (order Psittaciformes). A short-tailed, crow-sized parrot, nearly 50 cm (20 inches) in length, it is black with red underparts and gray legs. The forepart of the head lacks feathers, and those on the neck are bristlelike; males bear a distinctive...

When phase is the parameter altered by the information signal, the method is called phase-shift keying (PSK). In the simplest form of PSK a single radio frequency carrier is sent with a fixed phase to represent a 0 and with a 180° phase shift—that is, with the opposite polarity—to represent a 1. PSK was employed in the Bell 212 modem, which was introduced about 1980 to transmit......

oblast (province), northwestern Russia. It occupies an area of 21,400 square miles (55,300 square km) in the lowland basins of the Lovat, Shelon, and Velikaya rivers, with intervening low, morainic uplands. Much of the surface is covered by peat bog, grass marsh, and lakes—notably Lake Peipus in the northwest—while most of the remainder has mixed forest of spruce, pine, oak, and birch on infertile...

city and administrative centre of Pskov oblast (region), northwestern Russia. The city lies along the Velikaya (Great) River at its confluence with the small Pskova River, at a point 9 miles (14 km) above the Velikaya’s outfall into Lake Pskov. Pskov is one of the oldest Russian towns, being first mentioned in a chronicle of the year 903 as Pleskov. The...

school of late medieval Russian icon and mural painting that grew up in the Russian city of Pskov in the late 12th century and reached its highest development, especially in icon painting, in the 14th through the early 16th centuries. Pskov and the larger city of Novgorod both remained free of Mongol rule in the two centuries following the invasions of Russia in the mid-13th century and thus pres...

In March 1611 a third False Dmitry, who has been identified as a deacon called Sidorka, appeared at Ivangorod. He gained the allegiance of the Cossacks (March 1612), who were ravaging the environs of Moscow, and of the inhabitants of Pskov, thus acquiring the nickname Thief of Pskov. In May 1612 he was betrayed and later executed in Moscow....

Politics remained generally stable in Poland in 2013 as the Civic Platform (PO)–Polish Peasant Party (PSL) coalition government, which had been in power since 2007, held a small but workable majority in the Sejm (parliament). Donald Tusk, the leader of the coalition’s larger partner, the centre-right PO, was serving his second consecutive term as prime minister; however, opinion polls......

India launched the Mars Orbiter Mission (also called Mangalyaan), its first probe to Mars, on November 5, using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Because the PSLV did not have the power to place the 1,350-kg (3,000-lb) probe on a direct trajectory, the spacecraft used low-power thrusters to raise its orbit over a period of nearly four weeks until it broke free of Earth’s gravity and......

American symphony orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded as the Pittsburgh Orchestra in 1896; its first conductor was Frederick Archer (1896–98). Music director Victor Herbert (1898–1904) was followed by permanent conductor Emil Paur (1904–10), after which the orchestra was disbanded until 1926, when the newly formed aut...

...Psoinae) differ from the bostrichids in having a large head that is visible from above. The adults are black or brown and range from 14 to 28 mm. The larvae bore through the heartwood. The spotted-limb borer (Psoa maculata) breeds only in dead wood, and the genus Polycaon is often destructive in orchards....

any of a group of about 5,000 species of soft-bodied insects, usually less than 5 mm (0.2 inch) long. Its slender antennae are at least as long as its body, and wing venation is simple, with no crossveins. Mouthparts are adapted for chewing, with the upper jaw usually elongated and chisel-like. Psocids eat fungi (including molds), cereals, pollen, and organic debris....

any of a group of about 5,000 species of soft-bodied insects, usually less than 5 mm (0.2 inch) long. Its slender antennae are at least as long as its body, and wing venation is simple, with no crossveins. Mouthparts are adapted for chewing, with the upper jaw usually elongated and chisel-like. Psocids eat fungi (including molds), cereals, pollen, and organic debris....

The psoid branch and twig beetles (subfamily Psoinae) differ from the bostrichids in having a large head that is visible from above. The adults are black or brown and range from 14 to 28 mm. The larvae bore through the heartwood. The spotted-limb borer (Psoa maculata) breeds only in dead wood, and the genus Polycaon is often destructive in orchards....

The most widespread species is the common, or gray-winged, trumpeter (Psophia crepitans). The others are the pale-winged, or white-winged, trumpeter (P. leucoptera), and the dark-winged, or green-winged, trumpeter (P. viridis), of Brazil....

any of three species of long-legged, round-bodied birds comprising the family Psophiidae (order Gruiformes). All are about 50 centimetres (20 inches) long, inhabit northern South America, and are named for their strident calls, uttered as they roam the jungle floor searching for berries and insects. Trumpeters are small-headed and thin-necked, with short, rounded wings, a short bill, and a charact...

...(moth bean) and V. umbellata (rice bean) are much used in the tropics for forage and soil improvement, and their seeds are palatable and rich in protein. Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (winged bean) is collected in Southeast Asia for the edible fruits and protein-rich tubers. Pachyrhizus (yam bean) is a high-yield root crop of Central America....

either of the four songbird species of the Australian genus Psophodes, assigned to various families depending on the classification used. They are named for the voice of the eastern whipbird (P. olivaceus): the male gives a long whistle and a loud crack, and the female answers instantly with “choo” sounds. This species is 25 cm (10 inches) long, with broad, graduated tail, and is dar...

a chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disorder. The most common type, called plaque psoriasis (psoriasis vulgaris), is characterized by reddish, slightly elevated patches or papules (solid elevations) covered with silvery-white scales. In most cases, the lesions tend to be symmetrically distributed on the elbows and knees, scalp, chest, and buttocks. The lesions may remain smal...

a chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disorder. The most common type, called plaque psoriasis (psoriasis vulgaris), is characterized by reddish, slightly elevated patches or papules (solid elevations) covered with silvery-white scales. In most cases, the lesions tend to be symmetrically distributed on the elbows and knees, scalp, chest, and buttocks. The lesions may remain small and solitary......

Several other types of polyarthritis resemble rheumatoid arthritis but characteristically lack the rheumatoid factors in the bloodstream. Psoriatic arthritis, associated with the skin disease psoriasis, differs from rheumatoid arthritis insofar as it has a predilection for the outer rather than the inner joints of the fingers and toes; furthermore, it results in more destruction of bone.......

Mites of the order Astigmata (superorder Acariformes) include the grain and cheese mites (Acaridae), itch mites (Sarcoptidae) of humans and animals, scab mites (Psoroptidae), feather mites of birds, mites associated with insects, and many free-living forms. Grain mites (Glycyphagidae) not only damage stored products but also cause skin irritations in those who handle such products. Itch mites......

disease of Citrus plant species caused by several related viruses. Symptoms vary greatly and include formation in some young leaves of elongated, white to yellow-green flecks, spots, rings, or large translucent areas. Certain symptoms tend to fade as the leaves mature. Rings bordered by sunken grooves may form on the fruit. On trees 6 to 12 or more years old, the outer bark in localized ar...

The Cuban Communist Party (Partido Comunista Cubano) was founded in 1925 by Moscow-trained members of the Third International (Comintern). For three decades it adhered to the Stalinist line but, nevertheless, opportunistically collaborated with the regime of Fulgencio Batista in the 1940s and early ’50s, its members even being rewarded with posts in government and labour. From 1954 to 1959,......

The Portuguese police are divided into four categories. The Public Security Police (Polícia de Segurança Pública; PSP) and the Republican National Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana; GNR) are under the control of the Ministry of Internal Administration. The GNR includes the road police and has jurisdiction over rural areas. The PSP patrols urban areas and directs city......

a temporary change in the electric polarization of the membrane of a nerve cell (neuron). The result of chemical transmission of a nerve impulse at the synapse (neuronal junction), the postsynaptic potential can lead to the firing of a new impulse....

clinical procedure for the estimation of overall blood flow through the kidney; the test is used only infrequently now. A specific dose of the PSP dye is injected intravenously, and its recovery in the urine is measured at successive 15-, 30-, 60-, and 120-minute intervals. The kidney secretes 80 percent of the PSP dye, the liver the remaining 20 percent. The recovery value at 1...

pulsar around which the first extrasolar planets were discovered in 1992. PSR 1257+12 itself was discovered in 1991 in the constellation Virgo by astronomers using the radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory. It is about 1,000 light-years from Earth and is a milliseco...

Nevertheless, there were strong grounds for believing that such radiation existed. The most convincing concerned radio-timing observations of a pulsar, PSR 1913+16, located in a binary star system with an orbital period of 7.75 hours. This object, discovered in 1974, has a pulse period of about 59 milliseconds that varies by about one part in 1,000 every 7.75 hours. Interpreted as Doppler......

...stars. After decades of searching for such extrasolar planets, astronomers in the early 1990s indirectly identified three planets circling a pulsar (i.e., a rapidly spinning neutron star) called PSR B1257+12. The first discovery of a planet revolving around a star more like the Sun came in 1995 with the announcement of the existence of a massive planet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi. In the......

...in the length of their periods—i.e., the intervals between successive pulses. The period of the slowest pulsar so far observed is about 11.8 seconds in duration. The pulsar designated PSR J1939+2134 was the fastest known for more than two decades. Discovered in 1982, it has a period of 0.00155 second, or 1.55 milliseconds, which means it is spinning 642 times per second. In 2006......

Swiss political party of the centre-left that supports an extensive government role in the economy. With the Christian Democratic People’s Party, FDP. The Liberals, and the Swiss People’s Party, the Social Democratic Party has governed Switzerland as part of a grand coalition since 1959....

...light from the surface of the meat (the meat appears pale). PSE meat is especially problematic in the pork industry. It is known to be stress-related and inheritable. A genetic condition known as porcine stress syndrome (PSS) may increase the likelihood that a pig will yield PSE meat....

In the United States, interconnection of mobile transmitters and receivers with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) began in 1946, with the introduction of mobile telephone service (MTS) by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T). In the U.S. MTS system, a user who wished to place a call from a mobile phone had to search manually for an unused channel before placing......

former Italian political party, one of the first Italian parties with a national scope and a modern democratic organization. It was founded in 1892 in Genoa as the Italian Workers’ Party (Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani) and formally adopted the name Italian Socialist Party in 1893....

A lifelong militant in the Uruguayan Socialist Party (Partido Socialista del Uruguay; PSU), Vázquez became a member of the party’s Central Committee in 1987. In 1989, as the candidate representing the Broad Front (Frente Amplio; FA), an alliance of leftist parties, he ran successfully for mayor of Montevideo, generally considered the second most important political post in the country.......

...Álvaro Uribe Vélez (to the upper house). Uribe’s party, the right-of-centre Democratic Centre (CD), obtained an unexpectedly high 19 seats in the Senate—only 2 fewer than the Social Party of National Unity (PSUN), the largest force in the upper house and the party of Pres. Juan Manuel Santos....

...family ties between the kings and the Thebans. Piankh’s son, Pinudjem I, who relinquished the office of high priest and assumed the kingship at Thebes, was probably the father of the Tanite king Psusennes I. Some members of both the Theban priestly and the Tanite royal lines had Libyan names. With the coming of the new dynasty, and possibly a little earlier, the Meshwesh Libyan military......

...and perhaps a military ethos. Toward the end of the 21st dynasty the Libyan leader of Bubastis, the great Meshwesh chief Sheshonk I (the biblical Shishak), secured special privileges from King Psusennes II (ruled c. 964–c. 950 bc) and the oracle of Amon for the mortuary cult of his father at Abydos. The oracle proffered good wishes not only for Sheshonk and his famil...

...strong ties to Cuba, and assorted regional leaders with local power bases. The immediate focus of competition was the selection of delegates to the national convention of the governing party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Maduro intervened in the selections in ways that confirmed his alliance with the leftist civilians. In October the president reconfirmed this alliance when.....

...were set up, most of them organized along ethnic lines. The light-skinned Creole elite, who opposed universal suffrage, set up the Suriname National Party (Nationale Partij Suriname; NPS). The Progressive Suriname People’s Party (Progressieve Suriname Volkspartij; PSV) organized the working-class Creoles. Eventually, the South Asians and Indonesians were grouped respectively within the......

Romário then transferred to the Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, and the team captured both League and Cup championships in his first season (1988–89). His control, mobility, and vision—combined with his strength, fine body balance, and a surprisingly long stride—made him a potent striker, despite being just 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 metres) tall, which was the source of his......

South Korean singer and rapper. Originally known in his country as a controversial and satirical hip-hop artist, he achieved international fame in 2012 with the music video to his humorous pop song “Gangnam Style,” which ultimately received a record-setting one billion views on the video-sharing Web site YouTube....

...Banhart’s mainstream appeal was decidedly limited, in the first decade of the 21st century he stood at the centre of a burgeoning musical subgenre that was variously branded neofolk, psych-folk, freak folk, and New Weird America. (The latter term was a takeoff on “Old, Weird America,” a phrase used by rock critic Greil Marcus to refer to the landscape of early 20th-century......

...that leaves the body at death. As indicated by a variety of Indo-European words for soul, such as the Sanskrit atman and the Greek psyche, it was often identified with breath; it was not so much immaterial as it was a finer, attenuated form of matter...

tall dressing mirror, suspended between two pillars, usually joined by horizontal bars immediately above and below the mirror and resting on two pairs of long feet. The cheval glass was first made toward the end of the 18th century. The glass could be tilted at any angle by means of the swivel screws supporting it, and its height could be adjusted by means of lead counterweights and a horse, or pu...

in classical mythology, princess of outstanding beauty who aroused Venus’ jealousy and Cupid’s love. The fullest version of the tale is that told by the 2nd-century-ad Latin author Apuleius in his Metamorphoses, Books IV–VI (The Golden Ass)....

...of 1956. After the publication of Tűzkút (1964; “The Well of Fire”) in Paris, his poetry again became officially tolerated in Hungary. His later works included Psyché (1972), a collection of letters and poems by a fictitious 19th-century woman, and several verse dramas. He also edited Három veréb hat szemmel (1977; Three......

...1663), Othon (performed 1664), Agésilas (performed 1666), and Pulchérie (performed 1672). In collaboration with Molière and Philippe Quinault he wrote Psyché (1671), a play employing music, incorporating ballet sequences, and striking a note of lyrical tenderness. A year earlier, however, he had presented Tite et......

...keeper of the king’s antiquities (1777), he was commissioned to complete the Fontaine des Innocents, Paris, in the manner of the 16th-century sculptor Jean Goujon. Pajou’s Psyche Abandoned (1791) offers an example of his graciously seductive style. It is one of the few creations in which he restrained his usual decorative style in favour of classical purity....

...most significant and well-known works are the Hercules Fountain (1596–1602) and the Mercury Fountain (1599), monumental Italianate bronze works created in Augsburg. His Psyche with Pandora’s Box is a characteristic example of his style—shimmering satin finish, spiraling complexity, and a soaring grace....

...I of Bavaria, at whose court he produced bronze figures of considerable accomplishment (1598–1613). De Vries joined Bartholomaeus Spranger in 1601 at Rudolf’s court in Prague. His “Psyche with Three Cupids” (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm) is a characteristic example of his stylishness—a wonderful satin finish, spiralling complexity, and a soaring grace reminiscent of......

any of the so-called mind-expanding drugs that are able to induce states of altered perception and thought, frequently with heightened awareness of sensory input but with diminished control over what is being experienced. See also hallucinogen....